Chicken Pesto Pizza

I recently posted a recipe for chicken pesto pasta.  Today I am using any left over ingredients and making it into pizza. 

We eat pizza a lot in our house.  While it is a treat to order it out, most of the time it's home made.  I make the dough in the late afternoon and by dinner time it's ready to go.  The kids enjoy a plain cheese pizza, but Jay and I like to experiment with different flavor combinations. 

Today's recipe is a take off on a white pizza.  It shares many of the same ingredients as the chicken pesto pasta, but unfortunately this is not gluten free.  Here's how it goes together.

recipe

prepared pizza dough or make it from scratch with this recipe
1 can artichoke hearts in water
2 c. cooked shredded chicken breast
1/3 c. prepared pesto
1 c. mozarella cheese, shredded
1/4 c. parmesean cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Press out pizza dough onto a large round pan or a sheet pan.  With a spatula spread pesto on to dough, this will be your "sauce".  Slice artichoke hearts into quarters.  Top pizza with artichokes, chicken, and cheese.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the toppings are golden brown, and the crust is crispy.

Rustic Pizza Two Ways

The thing that I love about pizza is you can enjoy it so many ways.  You can have it deep dish like they do in Chicago and thin crust like New York City.  Where I grew up in Buffalo, it is a happy medium.  I believe each type of crust serves a different purpose and all of them are enjoyable.

Today's recipe is for a thinner crispy crust.  I call it rustic because of it's irregular shape and very few ingredients.  The dough recipe included will allow you to make two average size pizzas or four personal ones.  I chose to make two.  Plain cheese for the kids and chicken bar-b-que for Jay and myself.

dough recipe

1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 tsp. honey
1 c. warm water (I run hot tap water)
3 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt (I use Kosher salt)
1 tbsp. olive oil (and extra for brushing)

In a large stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the honey. Wait a few minutes for the yeast to bubble and "wake up".  Add the oil and 2 cups of flour.  Once mixed for a few minutes add the salt and the remaining cup of flour.  Allow mixer to knead for about ten minutes on low speed.  Remove the dough from mixer and knead on the counter top for a minute. Place dough into a bowl greased with oil and cover with a damp towel.  Allow to rise for an hour or so, or until doubled in size.

You can use this dough for any pizza, calzone, or stromboli.

To make the plain cheese pizza simply divide the dough ball in half.  Spread the dough onto a cookie sheet sprayed with baking spray.

Next add about a 1/2 cup of pizza sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese. Brush the crust with olive oil. Bake in a preheat 450 degree oven for about 15 to 17 minutes.

To make the chicken bar-b-que pizza, follow the same step for spreading out the dough.  Next spread with 1/3 cup of bar-b-que sauce.  Add one cup of cooked chicken breast, shredded. Top with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1 cup of cheddar cheese.  Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven for 15 to 17 minutes.

Easy Garlic Knots

On the menu last night for dinner was homemade pizza. Simple enough, I prepared the dough in the afternoon, using Amy Z's recipe (a friend who is very talented and I'm trying to talk her into writing her own blog).  I pulled off a hunk of dough, that I normally split into two small calzones for the freezer. I decided to try garlic knots instead.


When we moved to Oneonta last year, I discovered a pizzeria called Mamma Nina's.  The pizza is New York City style, thin flat slices and very delicious.  They also have an item on the menu called garlic knots.  Apparently, this is popular menu item for central New York.  Jay and I fell in love with these garlic cheesy morsels.  We have tried them from other pizzerias, but Mamma Nina's in my opinion has the recipe down pat.


Moving ahead to my little experiment, I thought how hard can this be? My first job in life was working in an Italian restaurant as a line cook, so I had some skills. For my version of the garlic knots this is how I did it:

• Pinch off a golf ball size of your favorite pizza dough (if you don't make homemade then use a refrigerated brand or ask your local pizzeria if you can purchase a round of dough)
• Then start rolling a snake about 5 inches long (this brings back days of making playdough snakes)
• Tie the dough into a knot and place on an un-greased baking sheet
• Brush the the knot with olive oil and sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder and mozzarella cheese
• Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until puffed and golden brown
• When they come out of the oven brush with melted butter

You can substitute Parmesan cheese for mozzarella and use garlic infused olive oil instead of garlic powder.  Experiment and be creative. We also dip them into marina. YUMMY!!

Check out the Places To Go page for information about the Crayola Crayon Factory!